Vibrating spring structure



Aug. '7', 1962 E. A. KAMP 3,043,168

VIBRATING SPRING STRUCTURE Filed April 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ml my 2i ili INVENTOR.

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Aug. 7, 1952, E. A. KAMP 3,048,168

VIBRATING SPRING STRUCTURE Filed April 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 5/430 c.mr:l E0 Z0 47 3g 47 \Q 1 3B "I" w Z1? 54 4Q mi fr /34 30- a u w -75'HHIHHHHIHIMIH 1 F rates 3,048,168 VIBRATIN G SPRING STRUCTURE Ewald A.Kamp, Chicago, 111., assignor to The Englander Company, Inc., Chicago,111., a corporation of ware Filed Apr. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 731,518Claims. (Cl. 128-33) Dela- This invention relates to coil springstructures and more particularly to an improved vibratable coil springmounted on a supporting frame of the structure, so that vibrations areusually transmitted to a supporting floor, thereby creating an undueamount of noise. Another disadvantage appurtenant to the mentionedarrangement is that the vibrations tend to shake apart the supportingframe. Furthermore, the vibrations are usually transmitted from thesupporting frame to springs which support a person so that a portion ofthe vibratory energy is absorbed by the springs and little istransmitted to the person, thereby diminishing the efficiency of thevibrator.

One of the objects of the herein disclosed invention is to provide avibratable spring structure wherein vibrating energy is transmitted to aperson reclining on the spring structure without any substantial loss inthe springs of the spring structure.

Another object of the herein disclosed invention is to provide a springstructure wherein a vibrator does not transmit substantial vibratingenergy to a supporting frame.

A further object of the herein disclosed invention is to provide aspring structure which may be used with ordinary bedsteads.

Other objects and uses of the herein disclosed invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the specificationin light of the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bed showing a box spring with aportion broken away, said box spring includes a spring structureembodying the herein disclosed invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the spring structure in the boxspring shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the spring structureshown in FIG. 2 showing a vibrator attached to spring units;

FIG. 5 is an end elevation of the vibrator shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a vibrator mount taken on line 6--6of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on line 7--7 of FIG. 4.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a bed, generally indicatedby numeral 10. The bed 10 generally includes a conventional mattress 12and a box spring 14 supporting the mattress. The box spring includes aspring structure 16 which spring structure embodies the herein disclosedinvention. v

As may be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the spring structure 16 includes aspring frame 18, which has a plurality of coil springs or coils 20mounted thereon. Each of said coils is attached at one end to the frameand each of the coils has its longitudinal axis perpendicular to theplane of the frame, so that all of the coils are parallel to each atentice other. The coils are spaced an equal distance from adj acent coilsto provide a spring structure which has a uniform resilience. Avibrator, generally indicated by numeral 22, is attached to the springstructure 16 as will be described below.

The spring frame includes a substantially rectangular frame structure 23and a plurality of spring supports 24 which supports are mounted Withinthe frame structure. Each of the spring supports has its ends mounted onrespective opposite longitudinal edges of the frame structure. Eachspring support is positioned substantially parallel to each other springsupport and parallel to the lateral ends of the spring frame structure.The aforementioned coil springs or spring units are fixed to the springsupports by means of spring strips 26. Each strip 26 fixes one end ofeach coil of a plurality of coils to its respective spring support.

Each coil 20 has one end fixed to the spring frame as described above.The free ends of the coils are interconnected by a connecting meansdescribed below. The outer edge of each of the coils along the peripheryof the spring structure is attached to a border wire 23, which borderwire provides an edge of increased resiliency for the spring structure.A plurality of parallel lateral connecting wires 30 are fixed toopposite longitudinal edges of the border wire 28. A pair of lateralconnecting wires 30 overlies each of the coils except the coils adjacentthe lateral edges of the border wire as may be seen in FIG. 2. Aplurality of parallel longitudinal connecting wires 32 are fixed to thelateral edges of the border wire 28. Said plurality of parallellongitudinal connecting wires cooperate with the lateral connectingwires to interconnect the coil/springs. A pair of longitudinalconnecting wires 32, which wires 32 are perpendicular to the lateralwires 30, overlies each of the coils except the coils adjacent thelongitudinal edges of the border Wire. Thus, the lateral andlongitudinal connecting wires overlie the tops of coils 2t) and retainthe coils between the connecting wires and their respective coilsupports.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 4 and 7, it may be seen that a plurality ofcoil links 34 lock the upper portion of each of the coils to therespective adjacent connecting wires. Looking now particularly to FIG.7, link 34 is positioned under the uppermost coil of an associated coilspring 20, and a locking portion 36, which constitutes one end of link34, is looped over one of the lateral connecting wires associated withsaid coil spring to lock together the coil, the lateral connecting wireand the link. The opposite end of the link 34, which is not shown, islocked in the same manner to a connecting wire associated with anadjacent coil spring. Thus, the links 34 connect adjacent coil springsand attach the connecting wires to the associated coil springs. Thelinks 34 also connect the longitudinal connecting Wires to adjacentcoils in the same manner that the links connect the lateral connectingwires to adjacent coils as described above. Thus, the links and theconnecting wires provide a coil connecting means, which interconnectsthe coils into a spring assembly.

The aforementioned vibrator includes an electric motor 38 shown inphantom view in FIG. 4. The electric motor has a motor shaft 41, whichshaft is aligned parallel to the longitudinal connecting wires. Anunbalanced weight 43 is attached to motor shaft 41, thereby making themotor unbalanced so that it vibrates when the shaft rotates. The motoris mounted in a housing 42, which housing is attached to a vibratorplate 44 by means of a plurality of screws 46.

Vibrator 22 is attached to the aforementioned coil connecting means by avibrator attachment means 47, as may be seenin FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. Thevibrator attachment means comprises a split mount which includes a pairof mounting buttons 48. The lateral and longitudinal connecting wiresare placed in a wire groove 50 which is formed by buttons 48, and themounting buttons are held together by a nut and bolt 52 and 54,respectively. The bolt 54 extends through a bolt hole in vibrator plate44 to attach the vibrator to the connecting means, thus attaching thevibrator to the above mentioned wires.

As may be seen in FIG. 4, the attachment means fixes the vibrator 20 tothe coil connecting means at the intersections of a plurality oflongitudinal and lateral connecting wires and in substantially the sameplane at the coil connecting means. The vibrator is positioned in thecentral portion of the spring assembly so that the vibrator is proximatethe location of the center of gravity of a person supported by thespring structure.

As was pointed out above, box spring 14 is used in the bed inconjunction with mattress 12. The mattress is supported by the boxsprings and is adapted to receive a person thereon. The electric motoris energized from a suitable electric source through a connecting cord56. When the electric motor 38 is energized, its shaft rotates and theunbalanced weight tends to throw the shafts rotation off center, so thatthe motor moves in a substantially rotary path during its rotation.However, the weight of a person on the bed tends to flatten out thesubstantially rotary path of the motor and deforms the path to anelliptical path, which path has a very small vertical component.Inasmuch as the shaft has its axis of rotation positioned substantiallyparallel to the longitudinal connecting wires 32, the vibrator sets up avibratory force in a direction which is lateral to the spring structure.However, the longitudinal and lateral connecting wires areinterconnected by links 34, and the upper portion of the coils, so thatthe entire structure of the connecting wires and links vibrates tovibrate the entire mattress 12 substantially uniformly over the entiresurface of mattress 12.

Although the upper coils of the coil springs 20 vibrate with the coilconnecting means, the vibratory energy of the vibrator is substantiallyabsorbed by the coil springs 20 before it is transmitted to the springframe 16. Thus, there is no objectionable vibration of the bed whichmakes noise and has a tendency to shake the component parts of the bedloose from each other. be seen that the overall surface of the mattressis put into vibration without localization of the vibratory energy.Thus, the vibrator, which provides a vibratory energy source, has itsvibratory energy well distributed throughout the entire horizontal planewhich engages the mattress 12. It is apparent that the vibratory energyis confined to the plane above the coil springs 20 and to the 50mattress 12 since the vibratory energy which-is transmitted through thecoil springs 20 is absorbed thereby so that there is substantially novibration in the plane of the spring frame.

Furthermore, it may Although one specific embodiment of the instantinvention is shown herein it is apparent that modifications andvariations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. The scope of the present invention is to be limited onlyby the following claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. A spring structure for use in a bed having a mattress supportedthereon, said spring structure including a spring frame, a plurality ofcoil spring units mounted on said spring frame, a network of wiresinterconnecting one end of each of said spring units with similar endsof the other spring units, and a vibrator attached to said networkadjacent the center thereof and substantially coplanarly therewith forvibrating said network and transmitting the vibratory energy to saidmattress.

2. A spring structure for use in a bed having a mattress supportedthereon and comprising: a spring frame, a plurality of longitudinal andlateral rows of upstanding spaced apart coil spring units mounted onsaid spring frame, a wire network including a plurality of rows oflongitudinally and laterally extending wires with the wires of each rowconnected to the coils of the spring units in corresponding rows, and avibrator within the periphery of said wire network and attached tocertain of said longitudinally and laterally extending wires insubstantially coplanar relationship with the top ends of adjacent springunits for vibrating the network of wires and transmitting the vibratoryenergy to the juxtaposed mattress.

3. A spring structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein adjacent pairs oflongitudinally and laterally extending network wires are interconnectedwith the corresponding spring units by longitudinally and laterallyextending links.

4. A spring structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the vibrator ismounted between two pairs of spring units with a pair of longitudinallyextending wires and a pair of laterally extending wires traversing thespace between the said two pairs of spring units and supporting thevibrator therebetween.

5. A spring structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the longitudinalrows of spring units are connected by a pair of longitudinally extendingwires and the lateral rows of spring units are connected by a pair oflaterally extending wires with adjacent spring units in the longitudinaland lateral rows being interconnected by links attached to adjacentnetwork wires.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS JessupSept. 16, 1958

